Overview
Can ginger serve as an alternate medicine to serve the diabetic world? Diabetes is rampant and India is named as the capital of diabetes.
Diabetes is a symptom resulting from excess sugar in the blood. It can happen due to the lack of enough insulin or insensitivity of insulin, the hormone which is responsible for controlling sugar in the body. Most people are suffering from these symptoms which is termed as type 2. In type 1 diabetes, immune system of your body destroys the cells making insulin.
Prolonged high sugar in the blood leads to heart diseases and stroke, eye problems, kidney and nerve problems. Incorporating nutritious diet, Vitamin-d rich food and adding exercise to your daily routine helps curb the risks.
Do you hear the people with diabetes and heart risks can be harshly impacted by the outbreak of deadly Coronavirus?
Does Ginger Help Diabetes?
Ginger, the 5000 year old spice of Indian kitchen, uniquely flavored and making delicious cuisines has amazed the entire world with its healing properties. Ginger is being used as medicine for multiple complex symptoms starting from motion sickness to prevention of cancer to diabetes.
Ginger has been tried and been successful in animal model decreasing the blood sugar level in diabetic rats. There are several clinical trials showing the success of ginger in controlling diabetes. Let’s delve in to see the performance of ginger in type 2 diabetes which is more prevalent in the society.
Ginger Reduces Fasting Blood Sugar and Increase Insulin Sensitivity in DM2 Patients
#1.
In this study, 70 Patients were allocated randomly into ginger group and control group. They consumed daily 1.6 g ginger in patient VS. 1.6 g of wheat flour in placebo. After 12 weeks the patient group showed significant reduction in
- Fasting plasma glucose (FPG)
- HbA1C(average of blood sugar over 2 to 3 months)
- Increased insulin sensitivity
#2.
In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in which 88 diabetes patients were randomly assigned into ginger (GG) and placebo (PG) groups. The GG received 3 one-gram capsules containing ginger powder whereas the PG received 3 one-gram microcrystalline- containing capsules daily for 8 weeks.
The study demonstrated that daily consumption of 3 one-gram capsules of ginger powder for 8 weeks is useful for patients with type 2 diabetes due to FBS and HbA1c reduction and improvement of insulin resistance indices.
#3.
In 2015 study with 41 persons (22 in the ginger group and 19 in the control group) it was demonstrated that oral administration of ginger powder for 12 weeks at dose of 2 g per day caused significant reduction in the levels of FBS, HbA1c, in ginger group in comparison to baseline, as well as control group.
#4.
In this study, Diabetic subjects were treated with dried powder of ginger at a dose of 3 g/day for a period of 30 days. This treatment resulted in a significant reduction in blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL). The reductions of levels in the latter four parameters confer to good heart health.
Ginger Reduces Chronic Inflammation in Type 2 Diabetes (DM2)
In this study 64 patients were randomly given tablet consisting of 1 ginger powder daily twice after lunch and dinner (2 g total) vs. placebo getting 1 g of starch tablet daily for 8 weeks.
Result: Oral ginger supplementation improved inflammation of the patients suffering from type 2 diabetes.
- Increased inflammation is associated with kidney diseases, vision impact and heart risk.
- Chronic inflammation can accelerate beta cell death which creates insulin
It may be a good remedy for diabetic patients to diminish the risk of some secondary chronic complications.
The benefits of ginger intake in the management of type-2 diabetes seem to be progressive, that is, better results are achieved when ginger is taken daily over a prolonged period of time.
How do You Consume Ginger?
There are multiple ways to prepare ginger to consume. Make it a stir fry or add some honey and chew the mixture. But the following two are easy and fun to make.
Ginger Tea
Boil 1 tsp (2 g) of shredded raw ginger in a cup of water covered for 5-7 minutes. Filer hot.
Ginger Water
Add 1 tsp (2 g) of shredded raw ginger in a cup of water and leave it overnight. Filter and drink the ginger water.
Ginger Helps Many Other Symptoms
This has become an accepted medicine that unquestionably helps many diseases without the need of a prescription. It is used for treating
- Cold and flu
- Core throat
- Indigestion
- Helps relive arthritis pain
- Obesity
- Nausea and vomiting
- Motion sickness
Can Anti-Diabetes Drug Work Synergistically with Ginger?
In a 2013 study, a combination of ginger extract and a sub-optimal dose of glibenclamide, a non- insulin type 2 diabetes medicine (0.5 mg/kg) was found to exert effects similar to a full therapeutic dose of glibenclamide (1 mg/kg) in the STZ-induced diabetic model, highlighting the possibility of reduced side-effects of antidiabetics (due to the lower dose required) when used in combination with ginger extract.
Side Effects of Ginger
Ginger is on the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ‘generally regarded as safe (GRAS)’ list, and is considered safe at dosages of up to 4 grams daily.
Ginger at a single dose of 10 grams has been shown to reduce platelet aggregation in patients with coronary artery disease. However, Ginger given at daily doses of 4 grams or less for more than 3 months, has not altered platelet aggregation
Jiang et al., however, in an open label, three-way crossover, randomized study in 12 healthy individuals, confirmed that ginger and Warfarin do not interact.
- At doses of 6 g and Ginger has been shown to cause
- mild diarrhea
- heartburn
- gastric irritation
- Furthermore, ginger dust can produce an allergy upon inhalation.
Ginger is a safe dietary supplement and herbal medicine overall, with very few adverse side effects.
Summary
Ginger reduced fasting plasma glucose, HbA1C significantly compared with placebo group. Ginger improved insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetic patients supported by several clinical trials.
Therefore ginger can be considered as an effective treatment for prevention of diabetes complications.
Ask your doctor before you start using ginger.
